Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Lotus and Pray for Japan
The lotus flower is not your average flower
— it is a power flower! It is bigger than life, bigger than you and me.
The lotus flower is revered in Japan for its ability to rise from the dirty,
murky waters to bloom into a beautiful pure flower. This process symbolizes attaining enlightenment.
The idea is that we can rise above human suffering in the same way as the lotus by moving from the lowest to the highest state of consciousness.
'God, protect our planet, because we live here, and here we dwell with our daily tragedies.
May our daily reconstruction be the result of the very best that we carry within us.
Give us the courage
to be able to reconstruct what was destroyed
to be able to recover what was lost
to be able to accept what was gone forever.
May you give us courage to look ahead,
may we never look back nor allow our soul to be discouraged.
Give us enthusiasm, because Enthusiasm reaffirms to us that everything is possible, as long as we are totally committed to what we are doing.
God, may the Earth continue to transform seeds into wheat, may we continue to transmute wheat into bread. Do not leave us in solitude.
Have compassion on us. For we often think we are dressed when we are naked.
Do not forget, in your mercy, our friends in Japan, who are now teaching us the meaning of
Courage, Reconstruction, Solidarity and Enthusiasm.' Paulo Coelho's Blog
Sunday, March 13, 2011
TRIANON PALACE IN FLORESTI-PRAHOVA - Castelul din Floresti
Sufletul Castelului Cantacuzino inca bantuie orasul.
Zidurile puternice apara fantomele fantanilor arteziene, salilor de bal, saloanelor - niciodata folosite .
Inceput pe la 1911 de Grigore Gheorghe Cantacuzino, castelul pare bantuit de un blestem .
Un proiect ambitios , o imitatie a vestitului Trianon, de la Versailles, Castelul zace azi parasit dupa ce cutremurul din ’40 , prapadul lasat in urma de rusi in al doilea razboi mondial, colectivizarea si furturile n-au reusit sa-l distruga complet.
Obiect de patrimoniu national (aflat in evidentele si grija autoritatilor statului) – ‘Micul Trianon’ isi ofera ranile cu o solemna demnitate , vizitatorilor rataciti in zona. Fatada - inca intacta prin nu stiu ce miracol – ascunde un dezastru interior. Ziduri prabusite, ornamente de piatra atarnate de fierul beton in ancadramente crapate, caramizi dislocate, gunoaie …
Mai exista speranta?
mai multe informatii despre castel : Metropotam , Teoalida
In the village of Floresti, in Prahova county, some 80 km north- east of Bucharest, the Cantacuzino family, a family with a long-standing history in Romania, built a palace called Le Petit Trianon-the Little Trianon. Conservative politician Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, nicknamed The Nabob for his immense fortune, started building the mansion in 1911, at the request of his niece, Alice. It was a palace like none before in Romania. As requested by Alice Cantacuzino, the mansion had 150 bedrooms, seven ballrooms, and a tree park of 150 hectares, with rare trees, aqueducts, hunting grounds, golf courses, and horse riding grounds. However, the mansion was never finished. In 1913, Gheorghe Cantacuzino died without seeing the palace to completion. In 1914, French, Italian and Greek builders had finished the exterior and were starting on the roof. The walls were built of thick brick coated with travertine. The objects to decorate the interior were stored in the basement, and were never set up. They were stolen along the years. After the death of the magnate, no one took care of the castle, and no one ever lived in it. Princess Alice left to live abroad, and her uncle’s gift, the Princess’ Palace, as it was known, went into oblivion, and still lies forgotten.
The Little Trianon in Floresti is nowadays gutted. The roof and interior compartments are no longer, but the outer walls still stand, almost intact. The interior walls are ruined, and the bricks that escaped the thieves are scattered on the floor. The effects of time, disrepair and vandalism were disastrous.
It all started in world war one, when German troops stripped the roof of its copper sheet, took out the terracotta stoves, and furnishings.
Devastating events were to follow. In 1944, the Red Army took a few Ionic columns from the building. Then locals started breaking off the exterior Baroque, neo-Classical, and Renaissance decorations, decorating their stables and pigpens. As the stone was stolen, the building lost support. The earthquake of 1977 brought down the chimneys and some of the interior walls. During the communist regime, the building hosted a state farm, a dog training school, a military barracks.
The drama of Little Trianon is that is lies forgotten, in spite of promises made by the authorities. With a name like Trianon, it should have a better fate.
source : RRI
Similar post : Rasnov Fortress (III), Rasnov Fortress (II) , Meteora - Greece (II) , Rasnov Fortress (I)
SIGHISOARA , Sibiu, The Castle of Hunedoara , the city eyes, Rupea Fortress, Feldioara Fortress
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